A 4-year-old Wellington boy has died of a suspected complication from strep throat - just days after first complaining of a sore neck and tasting blood.
By Nicole Bremner and Corazon Miller
Neil Sebastian Chua, "Sebby"died at 7:30pm on September 26 in the Emergency Department at Wellington Regional Hospital after days of feeling unwell and repeated queries to health professionals.
His worried parents had first taken the preschooler to a local clinic, where he was diagnosed with a virus and a sprained neck. But he remained unwell and five days later Sebby rapidly declined. An initial pathologist report released days after his death indicated it was likely caused by a complication linked to a common bacterial infection.
His grieving parents, Arvin and Abegail Chua are now left searching for answers, hoping no other parent has to go through what they did. She doesn't know what went wrong, but wonders whether anything could have been done differently, to give their son's story a different ending.
"Maybe he'd still be alive?"
Based on their memory of what happened, and their phone records, Sebby's parents have compiled a timeline of the last few days of their son's life.
The tragic ordeal began almost a month ago on September 21.
Sebby first began complaining to his parents of a sore neck that day, while visiting Te Papa museum. Later that evening he also had a fever.
The following day the young boy complained that he could taste blood when swallowing. His parents took him to Kenepuru Community Hospital in Porirua at 4:40pm that afternoon.
They say their son was seen within two hours, and he was diagnosed with wry neck - which the admitting doctor blamed on a virus. However, he says no explanation was given as to why his son might be tasting blood.
Sebby was prescribed regular paracetamol, ibuprofen and rest. Despite this Mr Chua says his son showed no signs of improvement over the next two days.
By Sunday September 25 the 4-year-old began to also complain of joint pain, but was still eating and drinking. He contacted Healthline for advice and was told to continue with the pain relief. He was also advised to take him back to hospital if his son developed rashes or swelling.
The next morning, his parents noticed their son's arms and legs had become swollen, so they went straight to the Wellington Hospital's emergency department at around 10am.
Mr Chua says he was told only one person was allowed to be with his son, so he had to go home. He says the last words he ever heard from his son were over the phone - young Sebby pleading with him to be by his side.
"Twice he told me, can you please come here? I want to see you."
Sebby's parents say it took over an hour before he was seen by a doctor and nurse. They say while the medical staff ordered a blood and urine sample at admission, the blood test wasn't actually taken till almost four hours later. By that point Mrs Chua says he was so swollen doctors struggled to get a blood sample.
"It was around 3 - 3:30pm that they collected the blood sample from him," she says. "Which I believe is too late."
She says by that time her son's arms, fingers and even shoulder were swollen, making it hard for the staff to collect that blood.
By 5pm the Chua's recall their son was getting increasingly restless, and they were unable to get a good reading of the level of oxygen in his blood.
At 6:47pm Sebby needed breathing support, was intubated and attached to a ventilator. Ten minutes later at 6:57pm doctors began CPR. It was only at that point that Mr Chua was allowed to be with his son.
At 7:30 that evening, Sebby died.
Mrs Chua recalls those final 35 minutes.
"[The staff] were really trying. I was looking at him from afar, thinking 'should I tell them to stop?" But fearful of the regret of not trying all she could, she kept watching. Not long after the nurse called the parents.
"[They said], just carry you baby, just carry him. But by that time, I knew that he was already gone."
A month on she still questions if there's more she could have done - even as her husband rushes to reassure her - not for the first time.
"She keeps blaming herself, she says 'I'm a nurse, and I didn't even do anything for my son'.
"I've told her, you didn't go there as a nurse, you came there as a mother....that's why we went [to hospital] because we needed their help."
1News has seen a preliminary report from the Coroner's office which states the likely cause of death was due to complications from a bacterial infection - streptococcus pyogenes or Group A strep caused by tonsillitis, pharyngitis and a deep neck abscess.
However, further investigations are still required before a final cause of death can be determined. It's unclear when the investigation will be completed.
The Royal College of GP's Dr Bryan Betty says commonly sore throats are just caused by a simple virus; and serious consequences from a bacterial infection are rare.
"It's something we don't see often, but it can happen, so throat infections do need to be taken seriously."
The parents have written to the Prime Minister, Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand, and the Minister of Health in their search for clarity.
Te Whatu Ora Capital & Coast interim district director John Tait expressed his sympathies to the family.
"We recognise how distressing it can be to lose a loved one in difficult circumstances, particularly a young child," he says. "This matter is still before the coroner and the Health & Disability Commissioner and therefore it would not be appropriate to comment publicly on this individual case."
In a statement, Health Minister Andrew Little also expressed his condolences to the family; "to lose a child no matter the circumstance is a tragedy and my heart goes out to the family during their time of grief and loss."
He says it is for the coroner to establish the context and cause of death. "It would be inappropriate for me or anybody else to pre-empt the coroner's work."
Tomorrow the Chuas are flying to the Philippines with Sebby's ashes, where his extended family will face having to say a final goodbye to a young boy they'd never met in real life.
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